ARLINGTON -- Four days ago, Rangers ace Jacob deGrom stood in front of his locker in the home clubhouse at Globe Life Field and asserted his intentions to play here and win here.
As the hours to this year’s Trade Deadline counted down on Aug. 3, reports began floating around that the Rangers asked deGrom if he would be willing to waive his no-trade clause after a number of teams expressed their interests.
But deGrom wants to win in Texas, here with the Rangers. And he also knows that he hasn’t pitched to the best of his abilities, either. If this club is going to make a postseason push, he knows he needs to be part of the solution.
In Saturday’s 5-1 win over the Orioles at Globe Life Field, deGrom got himself back on track, allowing just one run -- a Jackson Holliday homer -- over five innings, while striking out nine. Shortstop Corey Seager broke the game open with a two-out, three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning, giving the Rangers much-needed insurance runs.
It’s deGrom’s first win since June 30 in Cleveland, which was the last time he’s gone more than five innings in a start. Entering Saturday, deGrom was 0-2 with a 6.50 ERA (13 ER/18 IP) in his past four starts, unable to record an out in the sixth inning once in that span. Most recently, in the days leading up to the Deadline, deGrom allowed four runs in 3 1/3 innings in Houston to give up the division lead to the Astros.
While he didn’t go terribly deep into the game, this was the type of start both the Rangers and deGrom needed as they attempt to hold onto the final American League Wild Card spot and get themselves back atop the AL West.